Highway 97-Stickle Road Plan Announced

Posted on 4/30/2015 by Pete McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM
Ministry of Transportation officials say there's not enough vehicles turning left at Stickle Road and Highway 97 to warrant a traffic light at that site. Project director Rampaul Dulay told media at an open house, the intersection doesn't meet the requirements. "Most of the traffic, 95 percent, is through traffic. There's only about 5 percent that makes any turning movements there," says Dulay. He says their data collection shows 11 to 34 vehicles make left turns during a peak hour from the east side (by Squires Four Pub), and only one vehicle from the east side by the RV park. However, Vernon councillor Juliette Cunningham, who was at the open house, says the numbers are low there, because drivers avoid turning left onto the highway. "They prefer to turn left there, but they are afraid to, and my concern is that the tourists don't understand the risk and they're often the ones involved in the accidents," says Cunningham. Cunningham says the city's plan is to extend 20th Street to the frontage road in front of Volkswagen, which could help. "That's probably not going to happen for a bit, but it's been on the books for some time. That would probably be the ideal solution." The ministry is proposing a right-in, right-out only intersection costing three million dollars with no traffic light. Vehicles would have to use Pleasant Valley Road to return to Vernon. "That's the purpose of the local road to handle local traffic and the highway is mainly for through traffic," says Dulay who says the province covers the cost to maintain Pleasant Valley Road south to 48th Avenue. An average of 27-thousand vehicles use the highway each day. The ministry says there's been three fatal crashes and 16 injury collision at that site the last ten years. An open house on the plan was held Thursday at the Prestige Hotel. Dulay says the proposed upgrade could be done by next spring. It would also include a northbound acceleration lane, and an improved deceleration lane, and left turn bays on the highway. He says including a traffic light would add $500,000 to $ 600,000 to the bill.